NICOLAS VOLET EPIC CEO INTERVIEW
EPIC CEO INTERVIEW: NICOLAS VOLET
In this article, Ivan Nikitski , EPIC’s Photonics Technology Program Manager, talks to Nicolas Volet Assistant Professor at Aarhus University and CTO of UV Medico, a developer of far-UVC disinfection lamps.
What’s the background to you co-founding UV Medico?
How has the company developed?
environments by inactivating viruses and bacteria, most of the UV spectrum is harmful to human tissues. Far-UVC lamps, with emission wavelength between 200 nm and 230 nm, are typically bulky instruments only fit for a lab. We wanted to change all this by developing a new generation of smaller, lighter, and cheaper devices generating far-UVC light at 222 nm, which is highly effective against viruses such as the SARS-CoV-2 and can be used in the presence of people around. This is because wavelengths below 230 nm have high absorbance in protein. Indeed, light at 222 nm is inefficient at penetrating the upper layers of the skin, which is composed of dead keratinocytes and rich in keratin. It also does not penetrate the tear-layer of the eye when used within the doses recommended by international regulations. The increased absorption means that far-UVC light does not reach living cells in human tissues. This is also true for eyes where the protein-rich cornea prevents 222 nm light from damaging the lens. A challenge with far-UVC excimer lamps is that in addition to emitting 222 nm peak light, they also release secondary emissions around 235 nm and 250 nm, which are dangerous. To ensure that only 222 nm is emitted, we use a unique safety filter that transmits light at around 222 nm and blocks all other unwanted wavelengths. Other safety features include a software so that the lamps can be programmed to operate only in working hours and fitted sensors to make sure that if something happens or somebody approaches the lamp it turns off automatically. Tests demonstrated that our lamps are effective in inactivating pathogens in the air and on surfaces. Accordingly, the lamps can be used in any indoor public spaces such as offices, classrooms, hospitals and nursing homes, airports and train stations, theatres and concert venues etc.
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With a passion for science, in 2004, I went to the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in
NV In the last two years, we have grown to a workforce of 20, including the appointment of Anders Samuelsen, former Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs as CEO, and Christian Kanstrup Holm, a professor in virology and immunology at Aarhus University as Chief Medical Officer. We have set up a factory in a town near Aarhus to manufacture the lamps as well as a worldwide chain of distributors in more than 60 countries. We also started to establish research hubs in select places by partnering with universities and governments to develop further far-UVC technologies.
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Lausanne (EPFL) to study a BSc in Physics. One reason for choosing this discipline was that it would give me the opportunity to work in different technical and geographical areas. Accordingly, in 2015 after my PhD, which focused on lasers for long-haul telecommunications, I went to California to work as a post-doctoral researcher at UC Santa Barbara for three years. I was then employed as a senior R&D engineer at OE Solutions, a manufacturer of optical transceivers for wireless and wireline markets. Then, in 2019, I was offered a position of Tenure- Track Assistant Professor, at Aarhus University in Denmark, where I’ve since been working on integrated photonics for quantum technologies. Shortly after starting at Aarhus University, I had the good fortune to meet Peter Johansen, an experienced Danish entrepreneur and innovator in the entertainment lighting industry. At that time, this market was in decline due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I had some experience with photonic components compatible with large-scale production, and we began to explore the prospect of novel UV light sources to provide safe disinfection. By “safe”, we mean to be used in places where people are around. We made a business case, and after some proof of concept, in 2020, we created UV Medico with Peter as company Chairman and me as CTO.
What have been your main challenges?
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UV is associated with sunburn and cancer. Lamps emitting UV light must follow strict regulations to
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ensure safe use when people are around. It is critical for us to maintain the highest level of quality and safety of our products. For this purpose, we work closely with medical doctors to further validate the safety and the efficacy of our lamps in different hospital settings. These results have been published in peer- reviewed papers, and we are involved in several research projects to build further knowledge. Our products have also been used at high profile sporting events such as the 2022 European Handball Championships, the Olympic Games in
Beijing, and the Tour de France. In addition to our lamps operating in compliance with all the relevant
What products did you aim to develop and for what applications?
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guidelines on artificial optical radiation, they can only be installed and maintained by fully qualified personnel. For this reason, we train our distributors exactly how to install and maintain the lamps.
Although UV light has been used for over a century to disinfect
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| ISSUE 33 | Q2 2023
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